Asphalt storage and loading apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

An asphalt storage and loading apparatus advantageously located adjacent to or distant from an asphalt plant and operated independently thereof, said apparatus including plural heated enclosures arranged in side-by-side relation to define an asphalt storage station, and an overhead conveyor arranged to extend along said storage station and also beyond one end thereof so as to define an asphalt loading station, whereby asphalt carriers can be loaded with asphalt by said overhead conveyor.

nite States Heller atent n 1 [45] Jan, 2 1974 ASPHALT STORAGE ANDLOADING APPARATUS AND METHOD [75] Inventor: Anton H. Heller, Levittown,NY.

[73] Assignee: Poweray llnfrared Corporation,

Farmingdale, NY.

[22] Filed: July 12, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 161,561

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 31, 1970 Great Britain37155/70 [5 2] U.S. Cl 126/3435 A, 214/41, 214/317 [51] lnt. Cl. E0lc19/45 [58] Field of Search..... 214/41, 302, 315, 316, 317, 214/318;219/388, 428; 222/146 R;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,729,209 1/1956 Miller126/3435 A 2,764,973

10/1956 Miller 126/3435 A 546,426 9/1895 McCoy 214/317 3,301,441 1/1967Werner et a1 222/146 R 3,345,497 10/1967 Porteous 219/428 X 2,728,47312/1955 Pickard et a1 214/315 FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,106,9025/1961 Germany 126/3435 142,945 8/1961 U.S.S.R 2l4/4l PrimaryExaminer--Robert G. Sheridan Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bauer & Amer [5 7]ABSTRACT An asphalt storage and loading apparatus advantageously locatedadjacent to or distant from an asphalt plant and operated independentlythereof, said apparatus including plural heated enclosures arranged inside-by-side relation to define an asphalt storage station, and anoverhead conveyor arranged to extend along said storage station and alsobeyond one end thereof so as to define an asphalt loading station,whereby asphalt carriers can be loaded with asphalt by said overheadconveyor.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures miminm 22 1974 saw 1 or 2 4 I I2 7 I I2FIG.I T?

INVENTOR ANTON H. HELLER I ATTORNEYS PATENTEDJM 22 i974 SHEET 2 0F 2INVENTOR ANTON H. HELLER ATTORNEYS ASPHALT STORAGE AND LOADING APPARATUSAND METHOD The present invention relates to the handling of asphaltpreparatory to its use for road repair.

Current practice is to have a centrally iotedabhfi mixing plant at whichthe ingredients making up the asphalt are mixed on a daily basis andloaded onto trucks or other mobile units preparatory to being used forroad repair. Further, to minimize separation of the aggregate from theasphalt which may result from a prolonged period of storage of theasphalt under improper conditions, the loading of the asphalt onto thetrucks is usually accomplished at a specified time at the beginning ofthe days operations. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for there to be along line-up of trucks at the asphalt mixing plant at the beginning ofeach days operations. Although this routine is obviously wasteful oftime, it is nevertheless the prevelant practice because it has beenfound impractical to operate the asphalt mixing plant throughout the dayin order to stagger the traffic of trucks coming to the plant to receivetheir requirement of this material.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided astorage and a loading apparatus in which significant amounts of asphaltcan be properly stored and subsequently loaded onto trucks preparatoryto use for road repair. In this manner, material pick-up can bestaggered throughout the day and furthermore is rendered independent ofthe operational requirements of the asphalt mixing plant.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, givenby way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. I is a perspective view of an asphalt storage and loading apparatusaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are respectively plan and elevational views showingfurther details of said apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view, on an enlarged scale, of the loadingarea of said apparatus and illustrating still further structural detailsthereof; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bulk storage unit for said asphalt,with external portions broken away to better illustrate internalstructural features thereof.

Reference is now make to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1,illustrating a storage and loading apparatus, generally designated 10,designed specifically for the handling of asphalt such as is used inroad repair.

Apparatus may be used in conjunction with, and at a location near, anasphalt mixing plant so that it can be readily supplied with asphalt orat locations distant or remote from an asphalt mixing plant. To thisend, the apparatus 10 is provided with an asphalt storing station whichincludes a plurality of asphalt bulk storage bins, or ovens,individually and collectively designated 12. Specifically, and as bestillustrated in FIG. 5, each bin 12 is a substantially rectangular unithaving insulated walls 14 which cooperate to bound an internal storagespace or compartment 16 having plural panels functioning as closures 18.It is contemplated that during use of the apparatus 10, a number ofsmaller storage container units, individually and collectively desig-'nated 20, each containing asphalt, will be stored at the storage stationwithin the compartment H3. The reason for this is that it is economicalto provide each larger storage bin 12 or each container 20 with infraredheaters 22 which operate, in a well understood manner, to maintain theasphalt in a properly heated condition which minimizes the separation ofthe aggregate from the other ingredients of the asphalt.

Turning again to a consideration of FIG. 1, the bins 12, as illustratedin this figure, may be arranged conveniently in side-by-side relationwithin the confines of support members 24 of an overhead crane orlifting mechanism 26. That is, straddling the supports 24 are crossmembers 28 which, in turn, support a longitudinally oriented guide rail30 along which the mechanism 26 appropriately moves from an operativeposition in which it can advantageously pick up a storage unit 20 from astorage bin 12 at the storing station, as illustrated in FIG. 3, to anoperative position in which it can deliver the same to a loading stationor area, generally designated 32 in FIGS. 1, 3, where the contents ofthe unit 20 can be conveniently loaded and thereafter unloaded intoroad-repair units or vehicles 34.

As may best be appreciated from consideration of FIGS. 3, 5, the liftingmechanism 26 includes a carriage 36 which rides along the rail 30 andhas a motor 38 thereon operatively arranged to raise and lower a cable40 terminating in a hook 42 which can be engaged to the bin covers 18,as at 44, to obtain access to the storage units 20 which then, in turn,can be lifted, when engaged as at 46, from the storage compartment 16.The engaged unit 20 is then moved from above the storage bin 12 to theloading area 32 by movement of the mechanism 26 longitudinally along therail 30.

Mechanism 26 also includes a dumping means 48 having a carriage 50, anL-shaped depending arm 52, and a circumferential turning member 54connected at its free end, as at 56, to a remote lower corner of theunit 20. Accordingly, in response to movement of carriage 50 in thedirection 58 away from the then stationary lifting mechanism 26, theunit 20 is rotated, as illustrated in FIG. 4, from its solid lineposition into its dumping position, the latter position beingillustrated in phantom perspective. As a consequence, the asphaltcontents of the unit 20 is dumped into the vehicle 34 preparatory to itsuse for road repairs.

In the side-by-side or linear arrangement illustrated in the drawings,the empty storage containers 20 may be conveniently stored alongside theloading station or area 32 to be subsequently filled or loaded withasphalt at a convenient time and thereafter placed back into the storagestation which includes the bins or vaults 112. However, it will berecognized that the linear arrangement disclosed should not constitute alimitation upon the scope of the invention nor should the illustrationof individual storage bins 12 for each storage container 20 be deemed tobe a limitation upon the invention.

It will be well recognized by those skilled in the art that theillustrated arrangement has been done for convenience of understandingand explanation. It should be apparent that in practice, the storagestation may have vaults or bins 112 which may be sufficiently large toaccommodate a plurality of the asphalt storage containers 20 and thateach container 20 may have its own individual heating means 22 either insubstitution of the heating means provided at the storage station or insupplement thereof.

In practice, the empty containers 20 may be conveniently stored adjacentthe loading station 32 in the manner described and illustrated in FIGS.1 and 3, in which event they are adapted to be filled or loaded at theloading station 32 by the operation of the conveyor means preparatory tostoring. If the asphalt mixing plant is at a distant location, the emptycontainers are taken to the same to be refilled and then returned to theapparatus 10. Thereafter, they are moved to the appropriate storingstation where they are kept in the desired heated condition such thatthe ingredients or aggregate does not separate from the asphalt. Thus, aunique feature of the invention is the ability to provide a constant andcontinuous source of stored asphalt in a ready heated condition for use.When a load of asphalt is required, the conveyor means is operated toselectively remove and convey at least one or more of the storagecontainers 20 from the storage station to the loading station where itis then unloaded into the vehicle 34. Thereafter, it is stored empty outof the way or refilled and stored at the storing station for futureunloading.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention,therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

What is claimed is:

I. An asphalt storage and loading apparatus comprising a plurality ofasphalt containers,

an essentially closed asphalt storage station for storing said pluralityof asphalt containers therein,

means for heating said asphalt containers while the same are stored insaid asphalt storage station,

a combined loading-unloading station separate from said storage stationto and from which said plurality of asphalt containers are adapted to beconveyed to be loaded with asphalt material preparatory to storing thesame at said storage station and to be unloaded of asphalt materialafter having been stored and a reserve station to and from which emptyasphalt containers are stored preparatory for loading,

a plurality of covers on and removable from said storage station to openand close selected portions thereof to enable the insertion and removalof selected ones of the loaded asphalt containers into and from saidstorage station, and conveyor means operative between said storage andcombined loading-unloading and reserve sta- 5 tions to convey saidasphalt containers therebetween, said conveyor means including engagingmeans to releasably engage and move selected ones of said asphaltcontainers at selected times between said stations. 2. An asphaltstorage and loading apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein saidoverhead conveyor includes container-engaging means operatively arrangedfor movement in opposite directions above said plurality of storageenclosures and also arranged for descending and rising movementsrelative thereto.

3. An asphalt storage and loading apparatus as defined in claim 2wherein said conveyor includes means for rotating said select containerinto a dumping position at said loading station.

4. An asphalt storage and loading apparatus as defined in claim 3wherein said conveyor means defines an elevated path of movement andincludes plural inverted U-shaped supports operatively arranged tostraddle said stations and a guide rail suspended along a horizontal legof each of said supports in a clearance position above said stations.

5. An asphalt storage and loading apparatus as defined in claim 4wherein said conveyor means includes a carriage operatively arranged formovement along said guide rail.

6. In an apparatus having asphalt material containers movable. betweenseparate reserve, storage and a combined loading and unloading stations,all of such stations being connected by a conveyor, the methodcomprising conveying containers loaded with asphalt material to thestorage station and storing the containers thereat, heating the contentsof the asphalt material in the containers to a predeterminedtemperature,

conveying the containers loaded with the heated asphalt material to thecombined loading and unloading station and emptying the heated asphaltmaterial from the containers thereat,

conveying the empty containers to the reserve station by way of theconveyor for future use,

and thereafter conveying the empty containers from the reserve stationto the combined loading and unloading station to load the same with anew load of asphalt material.

1. An asphalt storage and loading apparatus comprising a plurality ofasphalt containers, an essentially closed asphalt storage station forstoring said plurality of asphalt containers therein, means for heatingsaid asphalt containers while the same are stored in said asphaltstorage station, a combined loading-unloading station separate from saidstorage station to and from which said plurality of asphalt containersare adapted to be conveyed to be loaded with asphalt materialpreparatory to storing the same at said storage station and to beunloaded of asphalt material after having been stored and a reservestation to and from which empty asphalt containers are storedpreparatory for loading, a plurality of covers on and removable fromsaid storage station to open and close selected portions thereof toenable the insertion and removal of selected ones of the loaded asphaltcontainers into and from said storage station, and conveyor meansoperative between said storage and combined loading-unloading andreserve stations to convey said asphalt containers therebetween, saidconveyor means including engaging means to releasably engage and moveselected ones of said asphalt containers at selected times between saidstations.
 2. An asphalt storage and loading apparatus as defined inclaim 1 wherein said overhead conveyor includes container-engaging meansoperatively arranged for movement in opposite directions above saidplurality of storage enclosures and also arranged for descending andrising movements relative thereto.
 3. An asphalt storage and loadingapparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said conveyor includes means forrotating said select container into a dumping position at said loadingstation.
 4. An asphalt storage and loading apparatus as defined in claim3 wherein said conveyor means defines an elevated path of movement andincludes plural inverted U-shaped supports operatively arranged tostraddle said stations and a guide rail suspended along a horizontal legof each of said supports in a clearance position above said stations. 5.An asphalt storage and loading apparatus as defined in claim 4 whereinsaid conveyor means includes a carriage operatively arranged formovement along said guide rail.
 6. In an apparatus having asphaltmaterial containers movable between separate reserve, storage and acombined loading and unloading stations, all of such stations beingconnected by a conveyor, the method comprising conveying containersloaded with asphalt material to the storage station and storing thecontainers thereat, heating the contents of the asphalt material in thecontainers to a predetermined temperature, conveying the containersloaded with the heated asphalt material to the combined loading andunloading station and emptying the heated asphalt material from thecontainers thereat, conveying the empty containers to the reservestation by way of the conveyor for future use, and thereafter conveyingthe empty containers from the reserve station to the combined loadingand unloading station to load the same with a new load of asphaltmaterial.